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New Survey Finds Why Having a Daughter is a Better Financial and Emotional Investment for Parents Than a Son

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Published: June 13, 2014 2:27 p.m. ET

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Daughters are less likely than sons to live with their parents or
need their financial support, and if you’re an in-law, you’re out of
luck when it comes to all facets of support

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jun 13, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Today’s news bolsters the growing evidence that women are increasingly
more financially independent, finding that they’re 32 percent less
likely than men to need their parents’ financial support. The survey was
conducted by Harris Poll in May 2014 among 2,046 U.S. adults ages 18 and
older and commissioned by Yodlee
Interactive, whose APIs power financial innovation outside of banks.
With Father’s Day approaching, this report highlights another reason
dads can be thankful they have a daughter.

Only 31 percent of women with living parents/in-laws receive financial
support from them, compared to 41 percent of men

Women (25 percent) are less likely than men (32 percent) to live with
their parents/in-laws, based on all U.S. adults with living
parents/in-laws

Almost twice as many men (20 percent) say they do not plan to support
their parents emotionally (e.g., calling them, visiting them) as do
women (12 percent), based on all applicable responses

The joys of having a son get better with age. Here are some deeper dive
results on how middle-aged sons (ages 35-44), who have living
parents/in-laws, in particular stack up to their female counterparts of
the same age range:

They are more than twice as likely as females ages 35-44 to receive
financial support from their parents, based on all U.S. adults with
living parents/in-laws

They are more than three times as likely as their female counterparts
to live at home with their parents

They are also almost twice as likely to cite being unemployed or
underemployed as the reason they live with their parents, while women
ages 35-44 are more than twice as likely to cite because they’re
taking care of their parents

“Many people think that once you become an adult, you become financially
self-sufficient,” said Joe Polverari, General Manager of Yodlee
Interactive. “This survey shows that this isn’t always the case, as
dependence on parents’ financial help varies greatly among American
adults. These results stress the need for more communication and
education around financial independence, because ultimately if this
learning doesn’t start at home, it may result in a child never leaving
home.”

Daughters Are More Financially Self-Sufficient

Daughters are more financially stable than sons. Only a quarter (25
percent) of the women surveyed live with their parents/in-laws, compared
to almost a third (32 percent) of adult males.

Surprisingly, this differentiation is magnified for adults between the
ages of 35-44. Within this range, women are half as likely to need any
sort of financial support from their parents/in-laws, and even less
likely to need them to house them as compared to men. And even further
distinguishing these gender groupings, those daughters living with their
parents are more likely doing so to take care of them, whereas sons need
the financial support because they’re unemployed or underemployed.

Daughters Will Provide More Emotional Support

It doesn’t stop there. Fathers and mothers can take comfort knowing that
their daughters are more likely to provide them with emotional support
as they get older. The survey found that, out of applicable respondent,
sons are almost twice (20 percent) as likely as daughters (12 percent)
to say they don’t plan on providing their parents/in-laws emotional
support in the form of calling or visiting them.

Other findings explained:

Financial Dependence Geographically

Adults (ages 18 or older) living in the South are more likely to be
living at home with their parents than any other region. Over a third
(34 percent) of all adults living in the South with living
parents/in-laws still live with them, compared to 30 percent on the West
Coast, 24 percent in the Northeast, and 23 percent in the Midwest.

In-Laws Are Out of Luck

Regardless of gender, in-laws should not expect to be treated equally as
birth parents in terms of any type of support. The survey found adults
are half as likely to support their parents-in-law, both financially and
emotionally, as they are to support their own parents.

77 percent of adults said they would provide their parents with
emotional support as they age, while only 36 percent said the same of
in-laws

45 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by subsidizing their medical bills, while only 17 percent said the
same of in-laws

53 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by subsidizing their living costs, while only 22 percent said the same
of in-laws

50 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by having them move closer, while only 21 percent said the same of
in-laws

46 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by having them move in, while only 19 percent said the same of in-laws

48 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by moving closer to them, while only 17 percent said the same of
in-laws

45 percent of adults said they would support their parents as they age
by paying for them to live at a medical/nursing home or having a
live-in nurse, while only 19 percent said the same of in-laws

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll
on behalf of Yodlee from May 8-12, 2014 among 2,046 adults ages 18 and
older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and
therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please
contact david@vscpr.com.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms,
leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform
relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris
Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris
offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer
insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing,
advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris
possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care,
technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial
services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package
goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings
that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's
research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and
territories through our North American and European offices, Harris
specializes in delivering research solutions that help us -- and our
clients -- stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com.

About Yodlee Interactive

Yodlee is a leading technology and applications platform powering
dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services. Yodlee
Interactive makes the Yodlee Platform available to digital services
companies and developers via open and secure data APIs, to build
next-generation financial apps and services. Today more than 300
companies, large and small, are powered by Yodlee Interactive APIs,
accelerating FinDat innovation globally.

Yodlee and Yodlee Interactive are headquartered in Redwood City,
California. For more information, visit interactive.yodlee.com.

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